Children’s book of the week: Clever Bill (2+) by William Nicholson

There are many forgotten toys down the back of the fictional sofa. My favourites: the absent pink rabbit in Judith Kerr’s memoir; Shirley Hughes’s Jonadab (Jonadab and Rita); the Toy Story films — and this succinct wonder, Clever Bill, first published in 1926 and now reissued in a beautiful edition. Maurice Sendak described it as “among the few perfect picture books for children”.

Clever Bill is a simple but potentially devastating story about Mary, a young girl who is invited to stay with her aunt in Dover (“Dearest Child . . .”). She replies with a perfectly imperfect typewritten note and sets about packing the essentials: Apple Grey, her wooden horse, “gloves with the thumbs”, a doll (“dear Susan”), a trumpet, red shoes with buttons, a blue teapot,…

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